Home · News · News Aug 2019 · Aug 02 2019
Friday August 02, 2019

Greenland's ice sheet shrank more in past month than in average year, experts warn
TheGuardian | Jonathan Watts | 08/02/19

Unusually high temperatures are eating into ice sheets that used to be solid throughout the year, according to glaciologists, who warn this is both an amplifying cause and effect of man-made climate disruption across the globe.

Greenland -- which is home to the world's second biggest ice sheet -- is likely to have shrunk more in the past month than the average for a whole year between 2002 and now, according to provisional estimates from satellite data. Surface ice declined in July by 197 gigatonnes, equivalent to about 80m Olympic swimming pools, according to Ruth Mottram of the Danish Meteorological Institute. An additional third of that amount is likely to have been lost from glaciers and icebergs. ... Read more

Senate passes $2.7 trillion budget deal
Axios | Ursula Perano | 08/01/19

The Senate voted 67-28 to pass a $2.7 trillion budget deal Thursday that would suspend the debt ceiling through 2021, sending the package to President Trump's desk after the House passed it last week.

Why it matters: The Congressional Budget Office projected that the national debt would reach "unprecedented levels" in the next 30 years should laws remain the same. It exceeded $22 trillion in February, and the federal deficit has grown 23% this fiscal year. ... Read more

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Charming but dishonest and duplicitous: Europe's verdict on Boris Johnson
TheGuardian | Jon Henley | 08/02/19

He is clever, cultivated, charming; witty, self-deprecating, wildly entertaining and oh so terribly British. Also dissembling, dishonest, dark, duplicitous, and a danger to his country and to Europe -- a poker player whose bluff is about to be called.

As Boris Johnson settles into his new role, vowing, do or die, to take the UK out of the EU without a deal in 90 days unless the 27 nations ditch an accord that took two years to negotiate, European politicians and commentators are both fascinated and appalled.

Ten Broeke has since revised his opinion. "The charm, the intellect, the confidence -- it all now looks a lot like over-confidence," he said. "A promise of simple solutions to complex problems. And it could have disastrous consequences."

The EU27 will give little, if any, ground on the withdrawal agreement, he said, and the costs of no deal are many times greater for the UK than for the EU. "So I can see only one reason Johnson might pursue it. A cynical, dark reason: new elections, to win a new mandate - putting party before country, at a truly existential moment." ... Read more

The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy by Greg Miller

It has been called the political crime of the century: a foreign government, led by a brutal authoritarian leader, secretly interfering with the American presidential election to help elect the candidate of its choice. Now two-time Pulitzer Prize--winning Washington Post national security reporter Greg Miller investigates the truth about the Kremlin's covert attempt to destroy Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump win the presidency, Trump's steadfast allegiance to Vladimir Putin, and Robert Mueller's ensuing investigation of the president and those close to him.

Based on interviews with hundreds of people in Trump's inner circle, current and former government officials, individuals with close ties to the White House, members of the law enforcement and intelligence communities, foreign officials, and confidential documents, The Apprentice offers striking new information about:
  1. the hacking of the Democrats by Russian intelligence;
  2. Russian hijacking of Facebook and Twitter;
  3. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's hidden communications with the Russians;
  4. the attempt by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, to create a secret back channel to Moscow using Russian diplomatic facilities;
  5. Trump's disclosure to Russian officials of highly classified information about Israeli intelligence operations;
  6. Trump's battles with the CIA and the FBI and fierce clashes within the West Wing;
  7. Trump's efforts to enlist the director of national intelligence and the director of the National Security Agency to push back against the FBI's investigation of his campaign;
  8. the mysterious Trump Tower meeting;
  9. the firing of FBI Director James Comey;
  10. the appointment of Mueller and the investigation that has followed;
  11. the tumultuous skirmishing within Trump's legal camp;
  12. and Trump's jaw-dropping behavior in Helsinki.
Deeply reported and masterfully told, The Apprentice is essential reading for anyone trying to understand Vladimir Putin's secret operation, its catastrophic impact, and the nature of betrayal.
Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Friday, August 2 [13:25]
Climate System "Getting Unhinged" as Massive Heat Wave Causes Record Melting of Greenland Ice Sheet | DN | 08/02/19 | 6:21
Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Friday, August 02 (FULL) | 59:02
Note: on the full 59:02 video look for small white (or black) circles on the Progressbar they denote the different news stories. You can move the pointer on the Progressbar to jump to each story, and around the video.
  1. Headlines
  2. "You're Gonna Kill Me": Bodycam Video Shows Dallas Officers Mocking Man as He Died Pinned to Ground
  3. Ex-Health Insurance Exec: Industry Is Using Decades-Old Scare Tactics to Fight Medicare for All
  4. Climate System "Getting Unhinged" as Massive Heat Wave Causes Record Melting of Greenland Ice Sheet
Republican FLIPS On Mitch McConnell | TYT | 08/01/19 | 6:15
The1a.org
Friday News Roundup -- Domestic | 1a.org | 08/02/19 | 1hr
  1. This week, 20 Democratic presidential hopefuls met for the second time on the debate stage as the party edged closer to electing its nominee to challenge President Trump. Who-- and what -- got the most attention?
    1. Tuesday night's debate belonged to the front-runners, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. But their counterparts on Wednesday, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Kamala Harris, couldn't quite replicate their dominance.
    2. Neither did badly by any means: There was no doubt that Mr. Biden beat his lackluster performance from the first debate, and Ms. Harris held her own under a barrage of attacks, likely a product of her own strong showing last time.
    3. But Wednesday's most memorable performance, the experts seemed to agree, came from Senator Cory Booker -- although so many candidates scored at least some points that strategists questioned whether the polls would move much.
  2. Meanwhile in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has blocked election security legislation, part of which would require individuals to notify the FBI if foreign governments offer election assistance.
  3. And California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a new law that says President Trump will not be listed on the state's primary ballot unless he releases his tax returns. Will other states follow suit?Meanwhile in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has blocked election security legislation, part of which would require individuals to notify the FBI if foreign governments offer election assistance.
Friday News Roundup -- International | 1a.org | 08/02/19 | 1hr
  1. The Afghan government is preparing for talks with the Taliban this week, hoping to bring peace to the region as the devastating conflict continues. This year alone, the war took the lives of more than 1,400 civilians, according to a United Nations report.
  2. But The New York Times reports that the Taliban is no longer responsible for the majority of civilian casualties.

    Afghan security forces and their American-led international allies have killed more civilians so far this year than the Taliban have, the United Nations said in a report on Tuesday, once again raising alarm that ordinary Afghans are bearing the brunt of an increasingly deadly 18-year war.
  3. And an Ebola outbreak continues to spread in the Congo. The crisis is just a year old, and efforts to fight the disease have been met with unprecedented challenges.
  4. The government of Ethiopia announced that volunteers across the country planted 350 million trees in just 12 hours as they work to fight climate change.
  5. In addition, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and her husband, Prince Harry, revealed that they only plan to have two children, again, citing the climate crisis.
Will Trump Stop His MAGA Rally Crowd From Chanting Racist Slogans? | Stephen Colbert | 08/01/19 | 9:24
Kentucky Wants to Break Up with Mitch McConnell | Full Frontal by Samantha Bee | 07/31/19 | 6:56
McConnell Takes 'Moscow Mitch' Nickname Home To Kentucky For August Recess | The 11th Hour | MSNBC | 08/01/19 | 9:50
Manhattan D.A. Subpoenas Trump Org Beyond Barr's Protective Reach | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC | 08/02/19 | 6:00
President Trump holds rally in Cincinnati, OH | CBSNews | 08/01/19 | 1:58:06
Note: Trump starts at 35:14

08.02.2019. 10:10



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Lindsey Graham Mashups
Lindsey Graham

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the quiet part aloud on why he’s still so close to former President Donald Trump: because we can use him for our goals. "President Trump has gotten people who wouldn't give me or Romney or anybody else the time of day. They believe he is on their side," the senator told the America First Agenda Summit crowd on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

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Environment & Climate Change
Environment

The term "climate change" is often used to refer specifically to anthropogenic climate change (also known as global warming). Anthropogenic climate change is caused by human activity, as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earth's natural processes.

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AI - Artificial Intelligence | Machine Learning | Deep Learning
AI - Artificial Intelligence

AIArtificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the natural intelligence displayed by animals including humans. AI research has been defined as the field of study of intelligent agents, which refers to any system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of achieving its goals.

The term "artificial intelligence" had previously been used to describe machines that mimic and display "human" cognitive skills that are associated with the human mind, such as "learning" and "problem-solving". This definition has since been rejected by major AI researchers who now describe AI in terms of rationality and acting rationally, which does not limit how intelligence can be articulated.
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Quantum mechanics | AI - Artificial Intelligence
Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles.  It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.
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Economy, Wall Street and Banksters

Wall Street and Banksters

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Intelligence Agencies/Deep State?

Intelligence Agencies/Deep State?

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Daniel Ellsberg | Pentagon Papers
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Daniel Ellsberg and Paul Jay explore Ellsberg's latest book, The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. In the introduction to the book, Ellsberg writes: "No policies in human history have more deserved to be recognized as immoral or insane. The story of how this calamitous predicament came about and how and why it has persisted over a half a century is a chronicle of human madness".

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Nukes
Nukes

Nuclear weapons have come a long way and come in all types of different sizes. Some are relatively small while others are enormous, so big they boggle the mind at what they can be capable of, i.e. the Soviet 'Tsar Bomba' is/was 3,000 times greater than the Hiroshima bomb.

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Rana Foroohar and Fall of American Business
Rana Foroohar

Ms. Foroohar says financialization delivers stagnant wages, inequality and economic crisis; the Financial Times columnist and author of "Makers and Takers" says the financial sector represents only 7 percent of the U.S. economy, but takes around 25 percent of all corporate profit while creating only 4 percent of all jobs.

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The Untold History of the United States by Oliver Stone & Petere Kuznick

The Untold History of the United States by Oliver Stone & Petere Kuznick | 2014 | 10 Episodes

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Kuznick Interviews

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Historian Peter Kuznick says Eisenhower called for decreased militarization, then Dulles reversed the policy; the Soviets tried to end the cold war after the death of Stalin; crazy schemes involving nuclear weapons and the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba put the world of the eve of destruction - with host Paul Jay

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China Valley of Tunnels

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A report written by a Georgetown University team led by Phillip Karber conducted a three-year study to map out China’s complex tunnel system, which stretches 5,000 km (3,000 miles). The report determined that the stated Chinese nuclear arsenal is understated and as many as 3,000 nuclear warheads may be stored in the underground tunnel network.

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911
911

On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists attacked the Unites States. They hijacked four airplanes in mid-flight. The terrorists flew two of the planes into two skyscrapers at the World Trade Center in New York City. The impact caused the buildings to catch fire and collapse. Another plane destroyed part of the Pentagon (the U.S. military headquarters) in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Officials believe that the terrorists on that plane intended to destroy either the White House or the U.S. Capitol. Passengers on the plane fought the terrorists and prevented them from reaching their goal. In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks.

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The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War

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Trump's Mashups
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Trump's Sexcapades
Trump's Sexcapades.

Jessica Leeds (1980s)
Kristin Anderson (1990s)
E. Jean Carroll (1995 or 1996)
Lisa Boyne (1996)
Cathy Heller (1997)
Temple Taggart McDowell (1997)
Karena Virginia (1998)
Mindy McGillivray (2003)
Jennifer Murphy (2005)
Rachel Crooks (2005)
Natasha Stoynoff (2005)
Juliet Huddy (2005 or 2006)
Jessica Drake (2006)
Ninni Laaksonen (2006)
Cassandra Searles (2013)
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Victoria Hughes,
and three other Miss Teen USA contestants
Bridget Sullivan (2000)
Tasha Dixon (2001)
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Samantha Holvey (2006)

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Trump's Speeches | Rallys |Interviews
Trump's Speeches | Rallys

Donald Trump talks a lot, but what is he actually saying? Watch Trump at some of his rallys and see what you think.

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